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In Moncton, a search for a killer that paralyzed a city

Constable Hal Foster gets a hug as the Moncton community gathers at the Codiac RCMP Detachment for a vigil to honour three RCMP officers killed during a shooting spree Wednesday night. They were Const. David Ross, 32, Const. Fabrice Georges Gevaudan, 45, and Const. Douglas James Larche, 40. The two injured officers were identified as Const. Darlene Goguen, who remains in hospital, and Const. Eric Dubois. (Steve Russell / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

Ashley Cleveland, whose father, Ron, is an RCMP officer, adds to the collection of flowers at the Codiac RCMP detachment. The Main Street stairs were covered with floral tributes Friday. Late last night, after a 30-hour manhunt, suspected gunman Justin Bourque was arrested for the alleged killing of three Mounties. (Steve Russell / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

Floral tributes to three fallen mounties began to fill the front steps of the Codiac RCMP detachment Friday afternoon as residents gathered to pay their respects. The alleged killer was caught late Thursday night, about 30 hours after the city went into lockdown. (Steve Russell / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

RCMP forensics teams continue to gather evidence and investigate Thursday night's activities. Late Thursday night, suspected gunman Justin Bourque was arrested for allegedly killing three Mounties in Moncton. RCMP officers on duty when Bourque was caught described a sense of relief that the job was done, but also came to the brutal realization that the grieving process for the fallen officers was about to begin. (Steve Russell / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

Grateful Moncton residents began to gather near the RCMP detachment Friday to express their grief and pay tribute to three slain RCMP officers and support the rest of the force. Suspected gunman Justin Bourque appeared in court Friday afternoon. He did not speak and showed no emotion as he was remanded to appear in court July 3. (Steve Russell / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

With the alleged killer of three mounties finally behind bars, Moncton residents emerged from a 30-hour lockdown for a vigil where they could grieve and remember Const. David Ross, 32, Const. Fabrice Georges Gevaudan, 45, and Const. Douglas James Larche, 40. (Steve Russell / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

Women hold candles at a vigil Friday in Moncton for the three slain Mounties. The manhunt for the alleged killer paralyzed the city of 70,000 and ended late Thursday night with his arrest in the yard of a middle-class neighbourhood on Mecca Drive, while residents watched from their basement windows. (Steve Russell / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

MONCTON, N.B.—The Moncton manhunt for alleged cop killer Justin Bourque lasted 30 hours and ended just one brief kilometre from where it began.

It paralyzed this city of 70,000, emptied major thoroughfares, shuttered businesses and locked fear-stricken residents in their homes. In the end, the 24-year-old man — charged with killing three RCMP officers and the attempted murder of two others — was arrested unarmed in the tidy yard of a middle class neighbourhood on Mecca Dr. Police say weapons were found nearby.

“It sounds like ERT (Emergency Response Team) has our fella in custody,” an officer announced, according to publicly available recordings of police radio scanners.

“It’s the target. The target is in custody.”

Bernard O’Neill watched the takedown from his basement window at 15 Mecca Dr.

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“It was kind of scary afterward to realize the guy was right behind you and you didn’t know it,” said O’Neill, 75. He saw police take a suspect to the front of his house, lay him on the ground, search him and drive him away.

It was shortly after midnight on Friday. A city rejoiced, but the massive police effort to trace the killer’s steps and gather evidence had just begun.

That work started on Mecca Dr., a street of split-level detached homes and manicured lawns. Dozens of officers scoured the spot where the shooter’s reign of terror came to a close with a meek two-word concession: “I’m done.” The officers stood shoulder to shoulder, combing the foliage while a police drone hovered above the houses.

“It has been a very challenging 30 hours or more for the officers who worked around the clock to get the job done,” RCMP Supt. Marlene Snowman told a press conference.

Bourque later appeared in court under heavy guard and wearing what looked like green hospital scrubs. With long brown hair and a scruffy beard, he stared at the judge during his five minute appearance. He did not speak or show emotion. He was remanded to appear in court July 3.

The three RCMP officers killed during the shooting spree were Const. David Ross, 32, Const. Fabrice Georges Gevaudan, 45, and Const. Douglas James Larche, 40. The two injured officers were identified as Const. Darlene Goguen, who remains in hospital, and Const. Eric Dubois.

Police also searched for evidence along Mailhot Ave., a street adjacent to Mecca Dr. It’s in an upscale enclave with luxury homes, basketball nets and backyard pools. It was here, shortly after supper on Wednesday night, that two of the three Mounties were gunned down.

Jason Cyrus was in one of those swimming pools, enjoying a mid-week barbecue and swim with friends, family and five young children when they first caught sight of the suspected shooter wearing camouflage, draped in weapons and bullets. They assumed he was a soldier.

“What’s going on, brother?” the owner of the home asked.

The armed man’s chilling reply: “What the f--- do you think is going on?”

They asked the shooter if they should go into the house and were told: “That would probably be a good idea.”

It was three doors down that Const. Dave Ross, an RCMP K-9 officer was killed. The married father of one, who had another baby coming in the fall, had scrambled to respond to the incident from his home a few streets away.

On Friday, the spot where Ross died was swarmed by forensic investigators who took over the backyards of neighbourhood homes. Investigators pitched a blue tent and huddled under umbrellas as they combed through underbrush, planting little orange flags where evidence had been collected. Nine orange circles painted on the street marked the spots where shell casings of bullets that killed Ross had been found.

At the Bourque family home, where the alleged killer lived until a year ago, a decal of Jesus Christ hangs on the window, with an inscription proclaiming the home blessed. Bourque’s parents, Denise and Victor, are practicing Catholics who regularly attended Sunday mass. No one answered the door Friday.

A few doors over, one of Bourque’s best friends, Nate Plewes, was not home either. But his family did receive a visit from a spiritual counsellor who said he had prayed with them in an attempt to help deal with the shock.

“Nobody likes to think that the kid they saw grow up and who played in their yard turned out to be a monster,” the man said, before leaving in his minivan.

Plewes, like Bourque, was a firearms enthusiast and worked at a local gun shop, the World’s End Warehouse. The store announced Friday that although Plewes was “a hardworking, honest and reliable employee . . . caught up in circumstances beyond his control,” he had resigned his post.

Not much is known about Bourque. He lived in a downtrodden trailer park. He lost jobs at a local Walmart and a grocery store and struggled to get ahead. He had started a new job about a week ago, working the overnight shift at a food supply warehouse, according to management at Rolly’s Warehouse.

He also had a growing obsession with guns. But what might have triggered his allegedly targeting of police is a mystery. Glenn Woods, former director of the RCMP’s behavioural sciences unit, said it’s likely something he had been thinking about for a long time.

“They stew about it and at some point talk themselves into taking this action,” Woods said in a phone interview from his Ottawa office. “Actually, they fantasize about it. They sit there and think about how this is going to unfold.”

Woods said he also wouldn’t be surprised if the recent shooting in California, where a college student killed several people, sparked the Moncton shooter into action.

“These guys fall into two categories: they’re either imitators or innovators,” Woods said. “And most of them are imitators. If they read about or see a shooting case, that can spark a thought in their head to follow through.

“These things happen in clumps and it’s not by coincidence,” he added.

Const. John Thompson of the Hampton, N.B. detachment described a frustrating series of false alarms and near misses throughout Thursday as officers attempted to close the net on Bourque.

“It was discouraging,” he told the Star.

Thompson, who was on perimeter duty, described feeling a mix of emotions when Bourque was finally arrested. There was relief at getting the job done, but also the brutal realization that the grieving process for the fallen officers was about to begin.

Thompson had worked alongside Ross, although they were from different detachments.

“He was very professional,” Thompson said. “He loved his job. He was a great guy to work with.”

He described the other fallen officers as “all really good to work with.”

At a news conference Friday morning Assistant Commissioner Roger Brown said the whole force is grieving.

“I can’t dig deep enough to explain the sadness that we all feel,” Brown said. “We need to start this healing process together.”

Bouquets, candles and handwritten notes covered the steps of the RCMP Codiac headquarters in downtown Moncton as residents came to pay respect to the three officers killed.

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